This invention relates in general to railroad tracks, and in particular to a compromise rail that joins a lighter rail to a heavier rail.
Conventional railroad track has a base and a head connected by a web. The rail cars roll on the head, and the base is fastened to ties. There are a variety of different weights of rails, each different weight resulting in different cross-sectional dimensions. A heavier rail has a wider head and a wider base as well as a greater height from the bottom of the base to the head. Some railroad track systems will have light sections as well as heavy sections. For example, heavier sections may be utilized on curves, where the wear is more pronounced. Even though heavier, the curved sections may need replacement more frequently than the lighter straight track portions. Because the light and heavy sections have different cross-sections, a mismatch occurs. If the mismatch is beyond a certain selected tolerance, a compromise rail will be placed between the heavier and lighter rails. The compromise rail of the prior art has one end with a profile that matches the lighter rail sections and another end with a profile that matches the heavier rail sections. The width of the head will be greater at the heavier end than at the lighter end.
The distance or gauge between the inside surfaces of the heads of the lighter section rails will be the same as that of the heavier section. In the prior art, compromise rails have been machined asymmetrically so that the widened portion will be on the outside surface of the head. This allows the inside surface of the head of the compromise rail to remain at the same gauge. Since the widened portion is on the outside of the rail, there will be a difference between the compromise rail for the left-hand side of the track and one for the right-hand side of the track. This requires an inventory of two different compromise rails for each type of compromise rail section.
The compromise rail of this invention is interchangeable between right and left sides. The compromise rail has a head with a greater width on a heavier end of the rail and a lesser width on the lighter end of the rail. The head is symmetrical about a longitudinal center line, and tapers continuously in width from the lighter end to the heavier end. The symmetry of the head about the center line allows it to be used with either the right or the left side of a compromise track section.
During the installation, the end portions of the lighter rail section and the heavier rail section may be laterally adjusted slightly engaged so as to allow the ends of the compromise rail to abut flush with both the ends of the heavier and lighter rail sections. In making the adjustment, the gauge of the end portion of the lighter rail section may be increased slightly over the standard gauge, while the gauge of the end portions of the heavier rail section may be slightly decreased from the standard gauge. Since the heads of the heavier and lighter rails differ in width only in fractions of an inch, the difference in gauge at the lighter and heavier end portions is slight, and this difference from standard gauge is spread over the length of the compromise rail.
The width of the base of the compromise rail also changes from the lighter end to the heavier end. The change in width is also symmetrical about a longitudinal center line, however it may occur over a relatively short intermediate section. Similarly, a change in height of the rail will be made, but it may be made on a relatively a short intermediate section.